Family of fallen WWII airman mark first Memorial Day since remains were identified 80 years later

AVON PARK, Fla. - This Memorial Day is one that's been more than 80 years in the making for the family of a fallen World War II Airman 2nd. Lt. Pharis Weekley. He was killed during Operation Tidal Wave in 1943, but his remains weren't identified until last year. This Memorial Day is the first time his sister, 95-year-old Marva Turner, has been able to lay flowers at his gravesite.

"It's a feeling beyond words," Turner said.

Turner was 14 the last time she saw her brother, 21-year-old Pharis Weekley, before he was sent to serve as an airman in World War II. He worked as navigator in the nose of a B-24 nicknamed "Lady Jane."

Courtesy: Cathy Albritton

"I remember the plane taking off and my mother and daddy crying because we didn't know where he was going or when we would see him again," Turner said.

Prior to serving, Weekley was a junior at the University of Florida majoring in pharmacy. He was also a popular singer known for his signature baritone voice. The second wife of Thomas Edison was one of his biggest fans, but all was put on hold when he left for the war.

He took part in Operation Tidal Wave, which was considered by many as a suicide mission. On August 1, 1943, his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed. His remains were buried with other unknowns in a military cemetery in Romania where they went unidentified for nearly 80 years.

Then in 2014, Turner gave a DNA sample to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which in 2017 started exhuming the remains of "Operation Tidal Wave" losses. After years of anthropological and dental analysis, the family got a call last year that they had found his remains.

"I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. 80 years. 80 years later. I just couldn't believe it," Turner said.

For Turner, it's closure knowing that it was always her mother's dying wish to have her son buried next to her.

"This is the first time I've ever been able to go to the gravesite and put flowers to remember him like this," Turner said.

It was a moment she shared with her great-grandchildren, including her great-granddaughter, 3-year-old Pharis, named after her great-great uncle, Pharis Weekley.

Courtesy: Cathy Albritton

The last day she saw her brother, he gave her a necklace and bracelet for her 14th birthday, which she still has and wears to remember him on Memorial Day.

"For those families who are still waiting for any of the wars, don't give up hope," Turner said.

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